St Teresa's School Newsletter
Friday 13th February 2026
Kia ora koutou!
What a fantastic start to the year! It has been wonderful to see classrooms buzzing with learning and our tamariki so engaged as they settle into the year. Our swimming season is now underway, with students growing in confidence and skill in the water.
A highlight for me so far has been our Meet the Teacher Picnic. Even the rain didn't stop us from connecting with each other and checking out the 2026 learning spaces.
It has been wonderful to wander around the classrooms, and see all of the awesome work that the students have been doing, getting to know each other, their new classrooms and new teachers. This term, connecting to our year's theme Kite Aronui, we will be doing an arts rotation where the students will be rotating around each of the classrooms, experiencing different projects and activities in performing and visual art, taught by different teachers. Keep an eye out for some amazing displays and groovy moves.
It was lovely to welcome our new kaiako, ākonga and whānau last Thursday at our Mihi Whakatau. We are looking forward to getting to know all of those new to our kura, and thank all of our existing whānau for your ongoing support, and for making St Teresa’s School a place of learning, faith, and community.
At the end of this term, we will be saying goodbye to our beloved Miss O, as she heads over the hill to her new house by the beach. We wish her all of the very best in her new adventure. We welcome Miss Willa Maguire-Harbrow who will be teaching in Waiorongomai from the beginning of Term 2. You will have the opportunity to meet her this term as she will be spending time at our kura learning all about our learners and our school routines. She is super excited to meet you all.
Our Baptism programme is about to commence this coming week, and it’s not too late to join. Please get in touch with me to arrange this, or for more information. Remember, at the end of the Baptism programme, you can choose to have your child either Baptised during a school Mass, or on another day of your choosing.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Liz Lark
Beginning of Lent – A Season of Reflection and Hope
As we head into the beginning of the season of Lent next week, we invite all our families to journey with us through this special time in the life of the Catholic Church. Lent is the 40-day period leading up to Easter and is a time when Catholics are encouraged to pause, reflect, and grow. It is a season focused on prayer, caring for others, and making positive changes in our lives as we prepare to celebrate the joy of Easter.
Lent begins on the 18th February with Ash Wednesday, when a cross is placed on the forehead with ashes, as a sign of new beginnings and a reminder that we are all invited to turn our hearts towards what really matters. These ashes, made by burning the palms that were blessed during last year's Palm Sunday Mass as well as the student's Lenten intentions, will be prepared during the Rite of Burning of the Ashes on Tuesday 17th February. Please feel free to join us in the quad at 2:30pm. Ash Wednesday Mass will be held on the following day in the Kiwi Hall at 9:30am.
While Lent includes moments of quiet and reflection, it is also a hopeful time that encourages kindness, gratitude, and compassion.
Families can join in at home in simple and meaningful ways. You might choose to share one kind action each day, set aside a few minutes of quiet time together, or talk about things you are grateful for. Some families like to create a small prayer space with a candle, cross, or special book, while others focus on giving to others through acts of generosity or supporting a charity.
We warmly invite families to join us for our school and parish Masses during Lent. These are welcoming celebrations and a wonderful way to connect with our parish community, whether you attend regularly or are simply curious to learn more.
Prayer does not need to be complicated. A short prayer at bedtime, a moment of silence, or simply saying “thank you” for the day can be a meaningful way to participate. One simple prayer many families use during Lent is, “God of love, help us to be kind, patient, and caring, and to grow in love for others. Amen.”
Lent is a gentle invitation for all of us to slow down, reconnect, and walk together as a community of faith. We look forward to sharing this season with you and your children.
Recently, a group of Year 7/8s, alongside Mrs Lark, attended the mihi whakatau at Mrs Dailly's new school, Ss Peter and Paul. This special event was an opportunity to formally acknowledge and celebrate her leadership and contribution to our school, and to support her as she begins this next chapter.
Attending the mihi whakatau allowed us to ‘hand her over’ to her new school in the spirit of respect and whakawhanaungatanga, showing gratitude for her guidance here and wishing her well in her new role. It was a meaningful way to maintain connections and demonstrate the strong values of community and support that are important to our school.
We will miss Mrs Dailly, and pray that she is happy in her new school, and that her leadership and guidance is appreciated.
PB4L is about helping students make good choices, care for others, and grow as kind, respectful, and responsible people. It’s more than rules—it reflects our values of māhaki (humility), aroha (love), whakapono (faith), and tika (justice), and our Catholic faith.
PB4L helps children be the hands, eyes, and body of God—showing kindness, standing up for what’s right, and trusting in God’s plan.
- Māhaki: Listen, learn from mistakes, and respect others.
Aroha: Show love, kindness, and help others.
Whakapono: Act with faith in God, yourself, and your community.
Tika: Make fair and honest choices, stand up for what is right, and take responsibility for your actions.
We have PB4L lessons every week, where we practise positive relationships, resilience, and empathy. By living our values in every choice and action, we help make our school a safe, caring, and happy place to learn.
Our first focus for the term is about how we show kindness, respect and empathy in the classroom Aroha i te Akomanga me te Papa Rēhia. This will be followed by a similar focus of how this is displayed in the playground.
Last week, we welcomed Brooke Mehlhopt to Hub Club. Brooke has joined the team to supervise the tamariki after school, while Maddie is on maternity leave.
This year Hub Club will also feature Homework Club! Students who are in Hub Club after school will complete homework tasks, such as reading and maths practice. There will also be a mixture of structured activities to keep your child well entertained, as well as free play so they can relax and recharge after their day at school.
If you would like to book your child into Hub Club, please contact Zoë in the office. Spaces are available most days, with the option of sibling discounts.
In Wairarapa, the tamariki have been using the Numicon shapes to add numbers to 20, make number patterns to 10 and count in tens.
We continue to strengthen our Mathematics programme through the use of Numicon, a structured and highly visual approach to teaching number. Numicon helps children to see and feel numbers, rather than simply memorising them. The distinctive shapes and hands-on equipment allow students to recognise patterns, build number knowledge, and understand concepts such as place value and the four operations more deeply.
By using concrete materials before moving to abstract symbols, children develop strong number sense and lasting understanding. This practical approach builds confidence, supports a wide range of learners, and encourages students to explain their mathematical thinking clearly.
It is wonderful to see our learners growing in confidence and enjoyment as they explore Mathematics in meaningful, hands-on ways.
New Year New Goals
2025 was an incredible year for the FOSTA team. With events such as the Spring Gala, Wine Fundraiser, Raffles and more, we worked hard to support our school community. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed along the way. We truly could not do this without you.
Thanks to your generosity, we achieved our goal of purchasing the much-loved school van, contributed towards the senior camp, installed a hose to keep our gardens green, and repainted the lines on the courts.
We are dreaming big for 2026. Our goals include revamping the challenge course, redesigning the PE shed to make it more user-friendly, working towards a garage to house the van, and many smaller projects along the way. Watch this space for regular FOSTA updates.
To help us achieve these goals, we have some exciting events planned:
✅ Martinborough Fair Car Parking
✅ Easter Raffle
✅ Intermediate Dance and Discos
✅ Bingo Evening
We have big aspirations for our school, but we cannot do it without our amazing community. We are always looking for new members to join our small, friendly team. If you are interested in volunteering your time and skills, or offering some fresh ideas, we would love to welcome you.
Come along to our AGM, enjoy some cheese, wine and great company, and find out how you can make a real difference for our school.
We would love to see you there.
In Lieu of a Working Bee
As always, there are a lot of little jobs that need to be completed around the school to keep everything looking beautiful. We have, therefore, put together a list of little jobs that need to be completed, and could be done at any time.
These jobs include:
🧰 putting nets on the football, basketball and netball goals
🧰 repairing/replacing a corner of seats in the quad
🧰 clearning the soil away from the building outside Waiorongomai to prevent the timber from rotting (urgent)
🧰 waterblasting/cleaning all yellow strips on the outdoor stairs
🧰 replacing/repairing/repainting yellow markings on all goal posts
🧰 repairing taps on mud kitchen sink outside Wairarapa
🧰 staining two picnic tables
🧰 repairing holes in the interior walls of the student's bathrooms
🧰 deep cleaning lino area in the corridor outside the art room
🧰 repairing door and putting panels back in the greenhouse walls
🧰 converting old greenhouse (at the back of the field) into a cute play space (replacing roof, removing remaining shade cloth, clearing out etc)
🧰 covering new library books and entering all books into a spreadsheet
If you are able to help with any of these jobs, please contact Zoë or Liz. These can be completed anytime at your convenience. Materials and most tools will be supplied by school.
We’d love your support in making our school spaces even better! 😊
Students may join us from 8am in the quad for our complimentary breakfast club. Please note this is not a general drop off time. Students attending breakfast club must stay in the Hub or Quad. Classrooms are closed to students and whānau until 8.30am to allow our staff time to prepare for the day. If you wish to meet with your child's teacher please text or email them to make an appointment.
Contact Us
Email: office@teresas.school.nz
Website: https://www.teresas.school.nz/
Location: St Teresa's School Bell Street, Featherston, New Zealand
Phone: 06 308 9064
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/St-Teresas-Featherston/100057033717170/